Star Trek 45th Anniversary: Alice Krige 'The Borg Queen' Speaks
Alice Krige’s portrayal of the menacing Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact is an example of excellence in acting. We’ll discuss her experiences and her exciting new film she is producing.
Star Trek: First Contact has the most chilling of their villains. The Borg are a race of cybernetic organisms that operate as a collective race, meaning there are no individuals. They have one voice that they all hear, and that voice is their leader, the haunting beautiful Borg Queen.
Alice Krige played the part to perfection, giving a voice and a new sense of menace not previously seen in Borg story arcs. She has worked mostly in American sourced work though she is an English trained actor. Krige has worked in the West End, and in Summer Stock.
In her distinctive voice both like and unlike that of the character she portrays, it’s gentler and in her perfectly proper English speaking, Krige recounts to me via phone how she got one of her favorite roles.
“My agent called me and sent me three scenes to read,” She recalls, “I can’t possibly prepare for this with only three scenes. I have to see the whole script.”
Krige had no idea of the implications of her demands.
“Where I grew up in South Africa, we had no television,” She laughed of her vague knowledge of Star Trek. “I am very lacking in my knowledge of most popular culture. The only thing I knew from Star Trek was ‘Beam me up Scotty!’”
This would provide a tremendous opportunity for Krige to truly be inventive in the characterization of her role; an opportunity not always afforded to those who are fans or have familiarity with Star Trek. That familiarity has been known to influence one’s approach to their character. Krige had to do some research.
“I went to [Patrick] Stewart and borrowed all the Borg episodes.”
Then that day came, it was time to read. Krige recalls the feelings she had about her first reading for the role.
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